Scalable ceramic heat sink handles up to 100 W/cm 2

December 10, 2013 | 14:37

Scalable ceramic heat sink handles up to 100 W/cm 2

The compact CeramCool Box heat sink from CeramTec is designed for the efficient and homogeneous cooling of packages with heat densities up to 100 W/cm². It is made from Alunit, an aluminium nitride ceramic with a thermal conductivity exceeding 170 W/mK. This enables the coolant to get ...

The compact CeramCool Box heat sink from CeramTec is designed for the efficient and homogeneous cooling of packages with heat densities up to 100 W/cm². It is made from Alunit, an aluminium nitride ceramic with a thermal conductivity exceeding 170 W/mK. This enables the coolant to get closer to the heat source than any other concept with a comparably long system lifetime.

The CeramCool Box incorporates four symmetrically arranged spiral cooling loops with innovative flow paths to ensure balanced cooling over the complete surface, with ceramic walls just 1 mm thick. The coolant connections are limited to just one inlet and outlet to simplify device integration. Users are free to select their preferred coolant, and the heat sink is suitable for use in aggressive environments..

This CeramCool Box offers unlimited scalability in all dimensions. For example, a heat sink measuring only 16 x 40 x 40 mm has a total cooling capacity of 1600 W at 90 ºC, corresponding to a thermal capacity of 1200 W. This translates into a 60 K temperature delta to the coolant. With a coolant flow of 180 l/h and an ambient (cooling water) temperature of 30 °C, this means that the maximum temperature of the device mounted on the heat sink, such as a high-power LED, is just 90 °C.

Chips can also be mounted directly on the heat sink. Direct metallization for chip mounting, such as Ag/Pt, can be applied to ensure excellent heat transfer from the heat source to the coolant. Direct bonding of conductors on the surface eliminates thermal barriers and eliminates the risk of delamination.